What's everyone been reading?

[sweet_sparrow]

Yep. It's that time again... What's everyone been reading in... Oh, wait, I didn't ask last month, did I? Since I've last asked then. I think that makes in 'in May and June'.

Anyway, what's been on your reading palate and would you recommend it? ^-^

I've had a good reading month the past June, but May wasn't quite as spectacular. But in the interest of brevity and reading-list-friendliness, I'll leave more detailed responses for in a comment. I want to see how/whether that works better for people than a cut. ^-^

Comments

[akk]

Hello, this is my first comment/post here, though I've been lurking for a while. :)
Briefest personal context: I'm a German physicist fluent in English, which I try to better by writing and reading whenever I get the chance to do so.

May and June were filled mostly with two books. I read a couple more, but they didn't leave enough impression as that I recall them off hand.

Brent Weeks' The Way of Shadows, an enticing fantasy tale about a magical assassin taking a street orphan as apprentice. The book is the first in a trilogy, following the life of said apprentice. Weeks' world is dark with believable characters and I'm really looking forward to the next two books in the series, once the experience of the first book settled a little.

Daniel Fox' Dragon in Chains, an epic with a setting resembling ancient Taiwan with a distinct fantasy flavor (dragons and jade). I especially loved that the dragon is truly described as a non-human force of nature. I'm currently reading it's sequel, because I didn't want to leave its world and characters when it ended.

[sweet_sparrow]

*waves* Hi! Nice to meet you! ^-^

Daniel Fox sounds so familiar... *looks it up* Oh! I didn't know that Jade Man's Skin wasn't a stand-alone. At least I'm presuming that that's the sequel you're talking about. I take it you recommend it? (I'm now glad I hadn't bought it yet. I prefer starting at the beginning of a story.)

[akk]

:) Hi.

Yes, "Jade Man's Skin" is the direct sequel. There's supposed to be a third (and final) book in the series, according to a blog notice of the author it's going to be named "Hidden Cities", but it isn't listed for publishing yet. *sigh*
I've found "Dragon In Chains" and "Jade Man's Skin" (I'm at about 1/3 of the book by now) a delightful, refreshing read. Fox does a good job in bringing the quasi-historical (as well as the fantasy) setting to life in a vivid, descriptive prose. A style I enjoy a lot, because it's like "drawing images with words". It's not the most complex language, but it works well for the plot and the setting. :)

[sweet_sparrow]

2011 release, maybe? Hopefully?

I do love me some non-Westernesque settings, so that shoots the books up in my wishlist a fair bit. ^-^

[akk]

I have no idea, but I sure hope it won't take too long, I want to know how that epic myth completes. :)

If you love Asian settings and don't mind a historical novel, you might want to have a look at Lesley Downer's The Last Concubine, which is set at the end of the last shogunate and the Meiji restoration in Japan. It's a very vivid tale with great respect for the place and time of the novel. The author made a lot of effort to have the time and place come to life in a way that can be followed even by people without an intricate knowledge of 1860s Japan.

[sweet_sparrow]

I hope you'll get to read the final book soonish!

I, er, love any kind of setting as long as it's well-written and believable. ^-^ But variation is awesome and I do indeed find Asian settings intriguing. Most of my experiences are with (pseudo-)Japan and (pseudo-)China, though. It sounds like an interesting book! (And one I definitely have to pass on to a friend of mine as recommendation, at the very least. ^-^) Thank you! ^-^

[akk]

I forgot: here's the author's site http://www.danielfox.net/ with info about the books. :)